A Rainbow of Hope
by leeroc101
Summary: Inspired by My Little Dashie and the series of images I once saw describing how pinkie pie got her cutie mark by cheerring up her friend in the hospital. Rainbow Dash brightens my world.


I sat there, alone in my room, staring out the window. Another rainy day. It seemed like every day was like this now. Cold, a bit windy, but most of all, dark. The sky was always grey. Such an ugly color. It was supposed to be blue. A bright, beautiful blue to contrast the nice, white clouds and the pure greens of the trees. But i hadn't seen that blue sky in a long time now.

I was supposed to be writing an essay. That just seemed so fitting. To have to write a boring, old essay on a dull day like today. But I had long since given up on the essay as I tried to imagine what my world might look like right now with a little color. Probably nothing. It would be like watching a documentary on sand that was made in the thirties. Sure, this would be in color, but it's still be incredibly boring.

Then, She came into my mind again. Tamara. She wouldn't want me to be thinking this way. If this world was really so grey, she'd want me to paint over it with my own palette of colors. But I'm not that strong anymore. She had been my strength. She was the one who brought me out of this world of grey when I was ten and she showed me the magic of friendship. But, just as I cheered up and started to smile again, she moved on. And I was plunged back into this dull monotony.

Tried to cheer up. It's not like she was dead or anything. I tried everything. I tried playing sports again. I tried listening to music. I even tried watching those sappy chick flicks that always have happy endings. But the only thing that changed was the feeling of being watched. I decided that it must be my parents. They must have found their way up to heaven and were watching over me from up there. But I still felt alone.

I stood up and walked around the house. No sense in staring at the grey world outside any more. I wandered through the living room and into the kitchen, pausing to look out the back window. Of course, the backyard was the same shade of dull as the front. So I wandered back to the living room and down the hall to my sister's room. I'm not sure why I did that. It never made me feel better. In fact, it usually ended with me thinking about her again and crying on her bed. But I hadn't gotten to thinking about her yet. I walked in the room and looked around. Most of her toys were old now, and covered with a layer of dust. The ones under the window had long since been stripped of their color by the sun. Of course, the things in my room didn't have that problem.

But one toy in particular caught my eye. It was a plush pony. It's mane was a mixture of bright colors. The brightest I'd seen in a long time. It seemed to be wearing a rainbow for a cape which was tied around the base of it's wings. It had golden olive leaves over it's mane and it's hooves were wrapped with a ribbon the same color gold. It looked like something out of a kid's show about Rome. But the thing i noticed most wasn't it's style of clothing or the bright colors of it's cape, but the brightness of the it's blue hair. The sun hadn't taken any of this toy's color. This was the color that my sky had been, so many years ago.

I picked it up and examined it. It really was in perfect condition. Not a speck of dirt or hint of color lost to the sun. I turned it over and read it's tag. "Raindow Dash. My Little Pony. Hasbro. Copyright 2010." Rainbow Dash. That must be the pony's name. And My Little Pony, yes, I remember my sister watching that years ago. I turned the pony so it was looking at me. It's eyes had been stitched well. It seemed as though it was alive, and looking right into my own eyes. And it was smiling. I couldn't help but feel my spirits lift just a bit. My Little Pony, huh? Well, I had some free time. And this pony was rather cute. Maybe watching a bit of TV would make me feel better.

Two weeks had passed since I found My Little Pony on Netflix. I had watched every episode. As a show, it was really rather boring and childish, but I had become addicted to it. I watched only a few episodes a day, just to get my fix of cuteness. And as each day passed, I noticed my spirits rising a little at a time. The sun was shining brighter, the world around me just seemed to be a bit more colorful than it was. But I'd finished every episode now. I could go back and watch them again, but not yet. It was too fresh in my mind. Maybe in a month or so, I'd go back and watch it again.

But I didn't make it that month. I got a letter. An actual, physical letter, by snail mail, marked to be from Serbia. Serbia? Who the hell did I know from... Tamara! I ripped the envelope open on the spot and read the letter. I was smiling. But not anymore. The smile that i hadn't even noticed appear on my face left as quickly as it came as i read the letter out loud.

Daren,

I'm sorry I never wrote to you sooner. I feel bad that my only letter to you must come with such terrible news. I write to you now, from the hospital. I've gone through surgery after surgery, but the cancer I have just keeps coming back. I had been hoping that I wouldn't have to write to you about this, but it seems that time is running out. I miss you. I wish I could have come back to America and seen you again. Do you remember that list we made? Going to the movies? The beach? Hiking in the mountains? I looked forward to the days we would spend completing that list, and I have always regretting not putting up much of a fight when my parents decided to move back home. Or to what they call home. MY home was always wherever you were. And it always will be.

I don't know what will happen when I pass on, but whether I go to heaven or stay here as a spirit or even end up somewhere else, my thoughts will forever be with you and the days we spent together. I wish I could've told you this in person, but I love you, Daren.

Your friend forever,

Tamara

I set the letter down on the kitchen table and sat down. I was gone. I'm not sure if I passed out or what, but i sat at that table for a long time, just staring off into space. I wasn't thinking at all. Not about the letter, or about her over there in Serbia or even about the days when she was here. And I wasn't crying either. It didn't hurt. Or maybe it hurt so much that I didn't feel anything anymore. I stood up, and in a brief moment of thought, noticed it was dark. I started to walk to my room, but quickly forgot where I was going and just started walking. Every once in a while, I'd be aware that I'd tripped on the corner of a chair, or that i'd somehow ended up in the backyard, but the thought would always go away and I'd just keep walking.

Hours must have passed, because it was getting light out again. That was when i stopped walking. I was in the living room. My legs were getting tired. I must have wandered all night. I sat down on the couch and started to lay down, but something caught my eye. It was that pony again. That Rainbow Dash. She was looking at me, though her expression seemed different from the last time I'd seen her. The happy smile that I thought she had was changed slightly into one that seemed to be sympathetic. I picked her up and held her close as I lay down, the tears finally starting to form.

When I woke up again, the world was dark. Obviously, it was night again, but the color that i had started to notice around my house was gone. Even the Rainbow Dash that was still in my arms seemed faded and grey. I remembered Tamara. She might still be alive! I jumped to my feet. I had to respond to her letter before it was too late! I grabbed an envelope from my desk and a piece of paper from the printer next to it and started to write. Or, I tried to. Nothing seemed right. What could I possibly say? That i missed her? That I wished I could see her again? Sure, those things were true, but telling her now wouldn't help anything. She was dying! How could I give color to a person whose world was even darker than mine? Color. Of course! I knew what I needed to do.

A few days passed since I wrote that letter and sent her my Raindow Dash. Then a few weeks. Then a month. I didn't get a response. I had given up. I must have been too late. She must not have gotten my gift before she passed on.

I fell back into my old routine. Wake up, go to work, come home, sleep. Do it again. Even the days that were sunny seemed dark and I'm pretty sure that the lights in my house were broken. Turning them on never seemed to do anything anymore. Not that I needed to anyway. I usually just went straight to bed when I got home anyway. Sometimes I'd have something to eat before heading to bed so that my growling stomach wouldn't keep me up.

Today was one of those days. I sat at the table with my bowl of cereal. I was trying to forget about the letter than was still on the table, just within my reach. Something made me want to read it again. But, as I reached for the letter, I felt like someone was watching me again. Were my parents trying to tell me something? Or was it Tamara? Had she made it to heaven? Was she watching me now? I stood up and headed for my bed, leaving the cereal and the letter there. I had to fall alseep before I started thinking about her again. But it was too late. I'd only made it to the living room before I started thinking of her, laying in her bed in the hospital. The doctors rushing in with my letter and Rainbow Dash, only to hear the solid beep telling them that she was gone.

I could hear that beep. It was the stone that broke the dam that held my tears. It echoed through the house, through my mind. I tried to cover my ears, but it only got louder. Wait, that beep wasn't just in my head. Just as i realized it, I heard an explosion. I ran to the door and opened it. I was met with a blast of light. I shielded my eyes and considered shutting my door. Was it a bomb? Should i run? Did it even matter if I died here?

Finally, I was able to open my eyes, but I still couldn't believe them. It was a rainbow. The sky was black as night and there was no rain to be seen anywhere, but there it was. The most beautiful rainbow I'd ever seen. It came from the sky and bent at an unnaturally sharp angle, then arched from the horizon on one side of the street, almost to the horizon on the other before shooting back up into the sky. No rainbow looked like this. But it was real. It had to be. The colors were so pure! So bright! And it came from a whole in the clouds where I could barely see a ray of sun shine through.

Five, no ten minutes later, it was still there. Still perfect. And I was still standing there, marveling at how pure the colors were. How bright they were against the dark background of the clouds. Then, just as the colors began to fade away, I heard the sound of wings flapping. I looked up into the sky, trying to find the birds that made the noise. They must have been close, the noise was so loud. But I saw nothing. Until I looked back toward the rainbow. That was when I saw the source of the noise.

It was a blue horse. No! A blue pegasis! A bright blue pegasis with a rainbow mane. She glided down and landed on the grass in the front yard. She trotted carefully over to the path up to the front door, obviously wary of approaching a human. But she was carrying something. She held something in her mouth. Something small and brown. Very slowly, she walked up to me and looked up at me. She was trying to give it to me. I took the object from her and she back up a bit. It was a brown, wooden picture frame. And in it, was a picture of Tamara. A picture of the two of us, when we were just ten years old. It was the picture we'd taken the summer before she left. At the time, we didn't know she would be leaving, so we were quite happy. In fact, that picture was taken on the day we pretended to get married! I was wearing a nice pear of jeans and a white collared shirt, and she a white sun dress. That was probably the only time she wore something white and it stayed clean for more than a few minutes. We were quite the adventurous pair back then.

Then I noticed the loose piece of paper behind the frame. It was only held there by the piece that would make the frame stand when put on a table. I pulled it out and unfolded it. It was another letter.

Daren,

Thank you so much. I'm so glad that my letter got to you in time. They kept telling me that there would never be time for you to answer and that I shouldn't keep hoping. After all, it's been 8 years. They said you might not even remember me. But i knew you would. I'm so glad I was able to contact you before it was too late.

And thank you for the gift. I could feel my hope fading as each day went on without a response from you. As my time was slipping away. The rainbow that you sent me brightened my world more than you could ever know. I hope that this rainbow brightens this world for you too.

Your friend forever, Tamara


End file.
